Round one- mink vs fox

With the last of my egg  supply, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies (with walnuts).
The ones that survived my sampling, went into the freezer for the many days ahead. I was planning on eating one for Thanksgiving and maybe two for Christmas, we'll see if they last that long. The recipe was introduced initially as the "Best" chocolate chip cookies, then revised to mediocre so as not to get my hopes up... and the verdict is still this, The Best cookies, of any sort are when someone else makes them for you. These aren't bad though.

With the fishing being better and better, and no one to put pressure on them, I have been landing some great fish. Others get away, especially the other day when I was on the boat and forgot to bring the net, they often made it to the boat then flopped off. I have kept some of the fish for breakfast or lunch, giving the scraps to the the fox and Picasso. I know that the fishing will begin to slow at some point, and the food supply will be scarce, so while I can, I'm stocking up the freezer by smoking the trout. I put a rub of brown sugar and salt on the fillets and let stand until the meat has dissolved all it can. After digging a small hole in the ground, and putting a wind guard around it, I build a fire to make some coals, then put on some Birch branches to smolder and smoke the fish. Leaving it covered for nearly four hours, the fish is usually done. I have smoked nearly fifteen trout in the past week and have eaten maybe three of them so far. I must say, smoked trout is easily on my top list of best foods to eat. It seems that I snack on it all the time, wrapping up pieces to take on my hikes, or just relaxing by the fire, it sure is a nice treat.

Prior to cooking...

When they are done...

Fantastic.... I wish I had some cream cheese to make a dip... just one of the many things that would be nice to have.

It seems that the fish between fourteen and sixteen inches are the best colored flesh and overall best eating. I have cut into a few bigger, around twenty inches and they are good for smoking, however they don't make the best cooked in a pan. There are plenty over twenty inches but letting them go to breed or get bigger for another day seems more appealing.  The two Grayling on the far left turned out real well, coated in flour and pan fried with Tabasco sauce. Tasty*
Today while out fishing in the afternoon, the fox was watching me reel one in, patiently pacing back and forth hoping I'd leave it unattended for an easy meal. While cleaning the fish, I failed to notice that Picasso was watching me as well and before I knew it, he had jumped on my hand trying to steal the fish away from me. I thought he had bit my finger at first, but it might have just been his foot clinching down to hold on. Well he didn't stop there, I jumped up and he climbed up on my leg begging for some food. I cut a piece and he came to take it. Running off with a snack, the fox was in attack mode as he lunged for Picasso, forcing him to bail into the river and make some horrendous noise in protest. I spent the next hour trying to keep the fox from eating the mink and let me say that neither of them rested until I was yelling and chasing the fox all around the banks of the river, throwing rocks at the side of my cabin to make noise every time he wandered back to get Picasso. I'll just let them be. Fox fur hat? Mink fur gloves? Someone is going to lose this battle.

It has been relatively cold outside, but sunny and blue skies seem to be not very far away. I took a hike up the mountain, tracking a fox that was either walking the trail or tracking a porcupine... which I was tracking as well. There also seems to be a moose cow and calf that are near by but remain unseen. Their tracks are all over the back side of camp, and from what I know about them, I'll keep and extra apple in my pocket in case there are more hungry mouths to feed. I'm working my way up to the bear... I just don't have anything he might like to eat, besides me.
Also, I had to edit my last posting about Picasso being an otter. I was on the boat and saw two river otters playing around and thought, I'd better research this again. A mink is a smaller animal than an otter, but still with webbed feet, tail, nice fur coat and whiskers.... so it was my city slicker mistake. The river otters have not come near me, just mink and fox.

Daylight seems to be getting noticeably shorter, with the sun rising later and further behind the mountains, it feels like six in the morning around ten. At night, it sets shortly after six, on a clear day and is generally all dark by half past seven. Orion is also more visible earlier in the evenings, which is nice to see, not having to wake at the early morning hours for a glimpse. In those mornings that I am up before the sun, I dress in layers, from head to toe, hands double gloved, snow boots and wool socks, the whole thing just to go catch a fish or two. I can hardly make it through a cast on the coldest days before the water that comes back on the line freezes in the eyelets of the rod and blocks the line, making it near impossible to reel in or cast out. I have to constantly plunge the rod in to the river just to warm it up and thaw the line out. Three days ago, when I had a big one on, I had to force my rod in the river twice during the fight so I could reel him in, or he could pull out the drag. Luckily I have not cut the line or lost a fish due to it, but it sure is cold. The outer layer of gloves have a rubber palm and fingers with which blossom ice crystals with the moisture from pulling up the anchor line. This is while I'm wearing them no less. Its rather chilly. I would imagine that the next step is when I get a fish in the boat, it will freeze to the deck and I won't have to worry about it getting away. The engine was also frozen in the up position, only breaking free with a few buckets of water poured over it and a swift kick. The boat was frozen to the shore, a sheet of ice surrounding the boat on the water side, it takes a lot just to get going in the mornings.

I'm almost certain that this is only the beginning of the cold, so my amazement on these things will only magnify as the winter approaches. For now it will be happy cold morning fishing.